Two biologists, Urs Thalmann and Thomas Geissmann, from a Swiss university, have discovered a species of tiny gibbon on the island of Madagascar.
The scientists indicated that this new species of gibbon can only be found in the Tsingy de Bemaraha region in western Madagascar. These gibbons weigh about 1 kg and live in small groups, primarily feeding on leaves and roots. They usually forage at night.
They named this gibbon species after the actor John Cleese to honor his contributions to the protection of endangered species (John Cleese is known as a member of the famous British comedy group Monty Python and is an active advocate for animal conservation, particularly for lemurs, which were featured in a documentary titled “Operation Lemur”).
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Lemur Gibbon |
In fact, these small gibbons were first discovered by the Swiss research team in 1990.
Afterward, they returned to the mainland and spent several years conducting research in museums around the world, comparing the shape, fur, and characteristics of this species with previously discovered gibbons. The researchers agreed that this is indeed a newly discovered species.
Subsequent expeditions to learn more about this gibbon species could not be conducted due to challenges faced by the research team, such as illness, lack of funding, insufficient technical resources, as well as security and political conditions on the island of Madagascar.
This species is classified as a primate, and while lemurs are mammals found only on the island of Madagascar, they are also included in this category. Currently, these lemurs are at risk of extinction due to deforestation, which has eliminated their natural habitat.
